A galley cart system employs a housing with a door coupled to the housing, the door configured to be moved between a closed position and an open position. A vent plate in the housing communicates between a first compartment and a second compartment. A valve plate adjacent the vent plate is movable from a venting position when the door is in the closed position to a blocking position when the door is in the open position thereby preventing flow communication between the first and second compartment.
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1. A galley cart comprising:
a housing defining a cavity;
a door coupled to the housing, the door configured to be moved between a closed position and an open position;
a plurality of vent plates in the housing to communicate between a sublimation volume and a plurality of refrigeration compartments; and
a valve plate adjacent each vent plate, said valve plate movable from a venting position when the door is in the closed position to a blocking position when the door is in the open position; and wherein the sublimation volume includes a vertical distribution channel and a plurality of horizontal conduits, each horizontal conduit having an associated one of the plurality of vent plates and an associated valve plate.
9. A galley cart employing dry ice sublimation for cooling, said galley cart comprising:
a housing defining a cavity;
a door coupled to the housing, the door configured to be moved between a closed position and an open position;
a dry ice storage compartment;
a vertical distribution channel extending form the dry ice storage compartment;
a plurality of horizontal conduits extending from the vertical distribution channel;
a plurality of vent plates in the housing, each vent plate associated with a refrigeration compartment segment and in communication with an associated one of the plurality of horizontal conduits;
a valve plate adjacent each vent plate, said valve plate movable from a venting position when the door is in the closed position to a blocking position when the door is in the open position, said venting position enabling sublimated CO2 flow from the associated horizontal conduit into the associated refrigeration compartment segment.
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This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 14/202,495 filed on Mar. 10, 2014 entitled CONTROLLING FLOW OF DRY ICE SUBLIMATION INSIDE A GALLEY CART having a common assignee with the present application, the disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Field
Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to the galley cart systems for transportation vehicles and more particularly to an automatically sealing CO2 sublimation flow system allowing flow of sublimate into cooling compartments of the galley cart through apertures with the door in the closed position and sealing the apertures with the door in the open position.
Background
Galley carts employed for food service in transportation vehicles such as aircraft and trains often require cooling contain food and beverages at a temperature that is cooler than a cabin of the vehicle. At least some known carts include or connect to a refrigeration system (a chiller) that provides cool air to an interior volume of the cart to cool the food/beverages. However, the chiller is powered by the vehicle systems, reducing the amount of power available to the vehicle for propulsion, thrust, etc. As such, the chiller is an inefficient draw on the power supply system of the vehicle. Further, such a chiller system adds weight and complexity to the vehicle. Accordingly, some galley carts are configured to contain dry ice that cools the food/beverages as it sublimates. One drawback with the use of dry ice is the carbon dioxide gas (CO2) sublimate that is released. The terms “CO2 gas”, “CO2 sublimate”, and the like are used to describe the gas produced by the sublimation of CO2 from solid to gas.
At least in aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration has set forth requirements for the maximum CO2 concentration in a cabin of the aircraft. The sublimation of the dry ice may cause the CO2 concentration to exceed the maximum parts-per-million (ppm). For example, the CO2 gas may escape from the cart into the cabin when the door of the cart is opened in the galley area or in the aisle as food/beverages are served (a transient condition). Further, the CO2 gas may escape from the cart through provided leak paths to ensure that the pressure within the cart does not exceed a maximum threshold as the dry ice sublimates (a steady-state condition). Dry ice, providing CO2 gas sublimation as a coolant, is a commonly available, cost effective and volumetrically efficient refrigerant for such use. However, limiting venting of CO2 gas from the galley carts to avoid undesirable buildup of CO2 in passenger compartments is required.
It is therefore desirable to provide structurally simple and cost effective structure for control of CO2 gas sublimation in galley carts.
Exemplary embodiments provide a galley cart having a housing with a door coupled to the housing, the door configured to be moved between a closed position and an open position. A vent plate in the housing communicates between a first compartment and a second compartment. A valve plate adjacent the vent plate is movable from a venting position when the door is in the closed position to a blocking position when the door is in the open position thereby preventing flow communication between the first and second compartment.
The embodiments provide a method for shut off of CO2 sublimate in a galley cart. CO2 sublimate from dry ice in a dry ice storage compartment flows through an array of apertures a vent plate. By aligning a mating array of apertures in a valve plate with a mating array of apertures with the vent plate in a first venting position the flow of the CO2 sublimate into a refrigeration compartment is allowed. By opening a door in the cart, the valve plate is urged laterally with respect to the vent plate mis-aligning the mating array of apertures in the valve plate and the array of apertures in the vent plate in a blocking position thereby preventing flow of CO2 sublimate through the apertures in the vent plate.
The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present invention or may be combined in yet other embodiments further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.
The embodiments described herein provide a galley cart that includes a dry ice chamber at least partially enclosed by a vent plate, which is perforated with a plurality of apertures. A valve plate is positioned adjacent the vent plate and includes a plurality of apertures corresponding to the apertures of the vent plate. The vent plate is fixed, and the valve plate is moveable with respect to the vent plate. More specifically, the valve plate moves between a venting position and a blocking position. The valve plate is, for example, spring-loaded to be biased to the blocking position and moves from the venting position to the blocking position when the cart door opens. When the cart door closes, the door pushes the valve plate to the venting position. In the venting position, the apertures of the valve plate align with the apertures of the vent plate to allow CO2 gas to flow from the dry ice chamber to a refrigerated chamber in the cart. When the valve plate is the blocking position, the material between the apertures of valve plate is aligned with the apertures of the vent plate to close or block the apertures of the vent plate. For exemplary embodiments, the apertures of the valve plate are misaligned with the apertures of the vent plate in the closed position. In some embodiments, the cart includes more than one pair of vent/valve plates. The vent/valve plates help prevent CO2 gas from leaking into the cabin when the cart is in use and the door is open as a transient condition.
The cart further includes at least one pressure relief valve in flow communication with the dry ice chamber. The pressure relief valve opens when an air pressure within the dry ice chamber exceeds a pressure threshold to prevent over-pressurization of the dry ice chamber when the valve plate is in the blocking position and the cart is in the use (transient) or when the valve plate is in the venting position and the cart is in the galley as a steady state condition.
Referring to the drawings,
By disengaging the latch 116 from the corresponding receiver 118, the door 112 can be opened outwardly providing access to the interior cavity 111 of the housing 102. Wheels or casters 124 allow the galley cart to be easily maneuvered within the service areas and aisles of the aircraft.
As seen in
As shown in
A relief valve 140 is provided to vent CO2 gas from the dry ice storage compartment 126 in the event of an excess pressure buildup while the vent plate and valve plate are misaligned in the blocking position preventing flow of CO2 sublimate into the refrigeration compartment 120. In exemplary embodiments a spring loaded ball valve may be employed.
As shown in
The horizontal conduits may additionally act as storage shelves for the food or beverage items stored within the refrigerated compartment segments 120a, 120b and 120c of the cart 100. As with the initially described embodiment, a relief valve 140 is provided to vent CO2 gas from the dry ice storage compartment 126 in the event of an excess pressure buildup while the vent plates and valve plates are misaligned in the blocking position preventing flow of CO2 sublimate into the refrigeration compartment 120. A vent door 154 may be incorporated in a rear wall 156 of the housing 102 as shown in
The embodiments disclosed provide a method for shut off of CO2 sublimate flow from the dry ice storage compartment of a galley cart into the refrigeration compartment in the cart as shown in
Having now described various embodiments of the invention in detail as required by the patent statutes, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications and substitutions to the specific embodiments disclosed herein. Such modifications are within the scope and intent of the present invention as defined in the following claims.
Richardson, Marcus K., Lin, Chao-Hsin, Vandyke, Bryce A.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Feb 18 2014 | LIN, CHAO-HSIN | The Boeing Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038273 | /0328 | |
Feb 28 2014 | RICHARDSON, MARCUS K | The Boeing Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038273 | /0328 | |
Mar 07 2014 | VANDYKE, BRYCE A | The Boeing Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038273 | /0328 | |
Apr 13 2016 | The Boeing Company | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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